The document provides instructions for a basic Excel class exercise to teach essential Excel skills like entering data, adjusting columns and rows, sorting items, and using the AutoSum tool. The exercise has students create a grocery list spreadsheet and add up the total cost of groceries.
The document provides instructions for a basic Excel class exercise to teach essential Excel skills like entering data, adjusting columns and rows, sorting items, and using the AutoSum tool. The exercise has students create a grocery list spreadsheet and add up the total cost of groceries.
What is Excel? It is a spreadsheet program that allows you to make things like budgets, grocery lists, members lists (with addresses and phone numbers), lists of belongings, and much more.
Cells: Each of the little boxes that you enter information into. They are in a row and column: such as A1. Rows: They go across the spreadsheet from left to right, and they are numbered: 1, 2, 3… Columns: They go up and down the spreadsheet and have letters: A, B, C…
Notice that the cell A1 is noted at the top, and it is
cell column highlighted to show that it is the box you are typing in.
row
Note: It is easier to move through your spread sheet using the up, down, left and right arrows.
Exercise: Creating a Spreadsheet
Lesson 1: Entering Data
1.) Go to Cell A2 and type Groceries 2.) Press tab located on the keyboard and type Cost in Cell B2 3.) Go to A3 and type Milk and press enter A4 – Eggs and press enter A5 – Bread and press enter A6 – Cheese and press enter A7 – Meat and press enter A8- Total Cost
*You will notice as you click Enter that the cell
highlighted moves down to the next cell in the column. You can click Tab to move to the right. If you need to edit your text, you will need to change it at the top, next to the Otherwise it will erase the text that is already in the box. 4.) Go to Cell B2 through B7 and enter what you think that each item costs (i.e. 3.99 for milk, 1.99 for cheese, etc.) Lesson 2: Adjusting the columns. 1.) Notice that the cell is not quite large enough for the “Total Cost” value. Set your mouse on the line between A and B until you see this symbol: You may have to left click on the line first.
2.) Then push down the left click on the mouse and hold it, pulling the column over to the right until you can see “Total Cost” clearly.
*Note that you can also do this with the rows, if you want to make those wider. You place your mouse on the line in between the two rows, left click on the line, then holding the left click down, pull down on the line until it is wide enough for you.
Lesson 3: Assigning a Value
1.) Highlight the cost ($ amounts) starting from Milk to Meat by left clicking on the 3.99 and pulling the mouse down until you get to the other 3.99. 2.) Under the Home tab, click on the drop down arrow and choose currency or click on the $. 3.) You will see that they all now have a money value. Lesson 4: Sorting the items alphabetically 1. To sort the items on the list alphabetically, select the items by highlighting the boxes along with the cost. Do not highlight Groceries or Total Cost. *Note: If you don’t highlight the values, as well as the items, the values will not sort with the items, and everything will be out of order.
2. Under the “Home tab,” click on “Sort and Filter”
3. Click on Sort A to Z
It should like this.
Lesson 5: Using the AutoSum Tool
1) To add all of the costs up to figure out the total amount that the groceries would cost, we will use the AutoSum tool. This value will be put in the cell A8 next to Total Cost. 2) Left click on the $2.25 and pull the mouse down until all of the money amounts are highlighted. 3) Then on the “Home” tab, click on “Σ AutoSum.” It will add all of the values together for a total of $13.22.
*Note: If the amount ends up as ####, that means that there is not enough room for the total, and you will need to widen the column, so that the value can fit into the cell.
Lesson 6:
Saving Your Spreadsheet
1.) Using your mouse, go to “File” and
click on “Save As.” 2.) Name your document “Groceries” and click “Save.” Lesson 7:
Printing Your Spreadsheet
1.) Using your mouse, go to File and then “Print” to bring up the print preview screen. 2.) Click the large “print” button at the top of the preview window to print the spreadsheet.
